Start a quiet revolution.
"Start a quiet revolution. Trust your voice, your presence, your gifts. No likes required.”
-- Brenda Littleton
Laura Lentz - Writing At Red Lights
Art “Validation” by Carine Delimelette at Saatchi
We live in a world where every post, every poem, every tender truth shared online is met with an invisible metric. Likes. Shares. Followers. It’s easy to get caught in that loop.
From the time we are small, long before we ever enter a classroom, we are trained to seek approval, to earn our place by pleasing others. Unraveling that conditioning means learning to recognize how deeply we’ve been taught to question our voice and doubt our worth, especially when the world doesn’t reflect back the response we hoped for.
In a recent reflection, Laura Lentz reminds us of something vital: “It’s important to reach out and speak our truth without expectations. We live in a world of likes and shares and followers. Shhhh, we can say to our need for validation, and trust the love and the words you put into the world will find the heart that needs them.”
Yes. This.
In my work with writers, I see this appetite for approval show up again and again. It’s not just about the writing. It’s about the deeply ingrained habit of outsourcing our self-worth. When we don't feel right, we assume we must be wrong. That kind of logic is heartbreaking.
Validation, real validation, starts from within. From being willing to sit with our feelings. From not dismissing the parts of us that still ache or fear being seen. From learning to trust the strange and beautiful things we love about ourselves. From being confident in our choices, even in something as ordinary as picking out the right watermelon at Vons.
So today, I invite you to start a quiet revolution with me. A daily practice of inner validation. Of checking in before checking out. Of trusting that your voice, your presence, your gifts are enough. No likes required.
CHECK OUT:
Laura Lentz
Writing At Red Lights - 7-21-2025
When a letter goes unanswered….
https://writingatredlights.substack.com/p/put-down-your-need-for-validation